Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.
Author's notes: Many thanks to my fantastic editor Shygui for all the work he puts into this story.
Updates will be twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. The update from August 26th will be on the 27th, because I am travelling. I should have internet access in Italy, so there will be no further delay during my holidays. This part consists of 17 chapters, the last chapter will be posted on September 6th. I promise to give you at least 3k words with each update.
47
'Unca Harry, Aunty Daffy,' a high-pitched child's voice shrieked the moment they appeared just outside of the wards of Shell Cottage. Harry and Daphne shared an amused smile, then turned to walk towards Fleur and Bill's cottage through the long grass that bent in the evening breeze.
The small house was bathed in the long, golden rays of the evening sun. From where they stood they couldn't see the sea at the base of the cliff, but the noise of the constant slapping of the waves against the stone was hard to miss.
As Harry had predicted, Fleur had put up a table in front of the cottage, sheltered from the wind that blew from the sea and carried a fresh smell of salt and seaweed. A Muggle-style top of the range barbecue grill stood next to the table in a short distance and gave out puffs of delicious smelling smoke. It had been a joint Christmas present from them, Lisa & Justin, and Hermione & Ron a couple of years ago.
Justin stood next to the grill, being the chef of the day. Harry grinned; that was a wise move on Justin's part, the two of them had a silent agreement to ensure that they shared that duty since the Weasley men didn't seem to be capable to produce anything other than charcoal.
Ron stood next to Justin, a bottle in his hand, and told him something with wide gestures of his arms that had Justin breaking out into laughter.
Hermione and Lisa sat at the table, their heads stuck together. Fleur was nowhere to be seen, while Bill chased after a little blonde whirlwind who ran towards Daphne and Harry as fast as her short legs would carry her, her long, almost white-blonde curls streaming behind her.
'Unca Harry! Aunty Daffy!'
Bill caught the small bundle of energy just before she reached the wards, and scooped her up in his arms. 'How many times do I have to tell you that you ought not to run beyond the wards, Victoire?' he asked in a stern voice.
The three-year-old stuck out a trembling bottom lip, and her huge, blue eyes swam in tears. 'S...sorry, daddy. I's forgot.'
'That's obvious,' Bill said, his eyebrows knitted together, but the corners of his mouth twitched. 'See that you think of it the next time.'
He gave his daughter a small peck on the cheek, put her to the ground and sent her off to Harry and Daphne with a soft pat on her tiny derriere.
Victoire was already all smiles and laughter again when she reached Harry and Daphne.
Harry picked her up and swirled her around, which made her shriek and giggle. He stopped, gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek, and then handed her into Daphne's outstretched arms.
Another round of cuddles later, Victoire ran towards the house, a colourful picture book in her hands.
'Maman, maman, look what Aunty Daffy got me!' she shouted.
Fleur had just stepped out of the house, an infant wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms. She walked towards Harry and Daphne and greeted them both with a warm smile and kisses on both of their cheeks.
'You shouldn't have. You are spoiling her rotten,' she said to Daphne.
Daphne laughed to that. 'It's more like spoiling myself. She's always so happy when she gets a small gift.' She bent down to the tiny bundle in Fleur's arms and tickled the cheek of the sleeping infant with her pinky finger. 'How is my goddaughter?'
'Sleeping, feeding, sleeping, and sometimes crying,' Fleur said. 'Though not quite as often as Victoire cried. Dominique is a very quiet baby.'
'What did you expect? She's also my goddaughter. Of course she'd be an exceptionally well behaved baby,' Harry said with a straight face.
That had both woman snort. They rolled their eyes and looked at each other. 'Nah!' they said unison.
Harry stuck out his bottom lip in a reasonable imitation of Victoire. 'Now I'm hurt.'
However, that didn't impress the two witches. Daphne laughed, and Fleur put her daughter into his arms. 'Here, make yourself useful and take care of Dominique. I have some baguettes filled with herb butter in the oven and don't want them to burn.'
She turned around and walked back into the house.
His goddaughter in his arms, Harry followed Daphne to greet their host and present him with a few bottles of wine for the evening. He looked down at the baby in his arms, and a wistful smile flickered over his face.
How was Teddy doing, the godson Remus and Tonks had entrusted into his care the day he was born? His grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, had been heartbroken after the end of the war. The deaths of her only child and son-in-law had been the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Unable to face the reminders of the losses she'd faced day by day, she'd sold the small farm where she and Ted had lived, and moved with Teddy to New Zealand, to live with Ted's brother and his wife, who had gotten out of dodge during the first war. He supposed at some point he should really go and see them rather than just send the obligatory christmas and birthday presents, but time had managed to get away from him again since he thought about it last.
His melancholy thoughts dissipated as Daphne took him by the elbow, and they walked over to the table to greet Hermione and Lisa.
Hermione sprang up from her seat and gave them both one of her trademark hugs, whilst he maneuvered Dominique around to ensure she wasn't collateral damage. Lisa followed suit, though her movements were slowed down by her huge baby bump. She and Justin had married last August and almost immediately after that had started with their family. Their first child was due any day now.
'I'm not sure if it's still safe to stand next to Lisa,' Harry said to Daphne in a low voice as they walked over to the barbeque to greet Ron and Justin. 'She looks as if she's going to explode any second.'
Daphne gave him a soft slap on the arm. 'You're such a prat! I would've expected that remark from Ron, but not from you. Will you make such remarks about me, too, when it's my turn to have a huge belly?'
'What have I done this time?' Ron asked and gave Daphne a hug in greeting. 'I swear I'm innocent and was framed.'
'Actually, you have been for a change,' Daphne said and returned his hug. 'My husband decided to be insufferable.' She shook her head and looked at Harry with narrowed eyes.
Harry mock-gulped. He leaned over to Daphne, mindful of the sleeping baby in his arms, and gave her a peck on the cheek. 'Sorry, darling. I'm sure you'll be the most beautiful expecting mum ever.'
'That's better,' Daphne said and smiled at him.
He shot her a grin. 'Even if you'll look as if you're going to explode.'
Justin and Ron burst out laughing. Daphne took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
'How often do you make your wife silently count to ten after one of your cheeky remarks?' a grinning Justin asked, whilst he studied the steaks on the grill, before obviously making up his mind and starting to flip them over.
Daphne let out a sigh of long suffering. 'Too often,' she said, gave Harry a mock-glare, and took the baby out of his arm. 'I'd better take care of your goddaughter before you corrupt her beyond repair.'
With the baby in her arms, she walked over to Lisa and Hermione at the table.
Harry followed her with his eyes. She'd cradled the baby to her chest, put a small kiss on its forehead, and rocked it gently. There was no doubt she'd be a fantastic mother one day. A smile crept into his face.
How would it be to see her with a baby bump? Even more important, when would she be ready for that?
They'd agreed to wait before having children at least until they had finished their studies. Well, that time had come, but Daphne was as involved in the family business as he was, so would she be ready to start their family right now, or would she want to work in the company for a couple of years?
'Oy, ground control to Major Tom,' Justin's voice interrupted his thoughts.
'Uh?' Yanked out of his daydream, he turned to his friend.
'Ground what to who?' Ron asked at the same time.
'It's a Muggle term,' Justin said. He jerked his thumb to Ron. 'Actually, Ron tried to get your attention, but you were completely zoned out while you admired your wife with your goddaughter.' He gave Harry a knowing grin.
Harry's cheeks grew warm. 'What do you want, Ron?'
Ron took a swig out of his bottle. 'It happened while you were abroad, but I think you need to know, mate. Lucius Malfoy applied for probation after having served half of his sentence. 'Course he got denied, and was pretty pissed 'bout that. There's no saying with what he'll come up to get back at you, Harry.'
Harry bent down toward the bucket next to the barbeque that was filled with ice and an assortment of bottles, pulling out a bottle of Butterbeer for himself.
'I don't agree, Ron,' he said. 'Even though Lucius made threats against the Greengrass family and me, you never found any evidence that he was behind the attack on Daphne and me in Paris. That was almost five years ago, and nothing happened since then. I think it's rather far fetched to assume he'd attack us now, just because his probation has been denied.'
Ron opened his mouth as if he wanted to disagree, but was interrupted by Justin, who handed him a plate with steaks piled up high. 'Here, make yourself somewhat useful and take them to the table.'
Ron's face lit up at the prospect of imminent food, grabbed the plate, and carried it to the table as if there were the crown jewels of Britain on it.
Harry and Justin shared a grin and followed him to the table.
As always when the eight friends met, there was a lot of talk and laughter. Ron piled his plate with food and obviously forgot his worries about Lucius Malfoy and the threat he might pose over his dinner.
Harry sighed to himself. If only he could let go of his worries as easily. Ron's warning bothered him more than he liked to admit.
He cast a surreptitious glance at the young woman by his side. She still had Dominique in one arm and ate with the other hand, while she chatted with Lisa and Fleur about their experiences during their pregnancies.
His heart made a flip-flop. Daphne asked her friends a lot of detailed questions. Did that mean she was considering starting a family?
Harry's chest tightened, and he clutched his hands around his cutlery as unthinkable concerns entered his head: what if Lucius Malfoy chose right now to try and get his revenge by attacking Daphne? His heart thudded in his chest; he'd be devastated if something happened to her, she'd become an integral part of his life, and he couldn't imagine living without her, especially not now, when it seemed as if everything they had planned together and dreamed about was finally going to become reality.
He took a calming breath. Nothing would be gained if he started to panic. Common sense told him that it was nigh on impossible for Lucius Malfoy to stage an attack from Azkaban. These days the Malfoys were as good as broke, and all the "business connections" they might have had at one point were keeping Lucius company in Azkaban. Draco, unable to live of the family wealth or obtain a honourable occupation, thanks to the reputation he had earned himself during the war, had become a petty criminal. He hadn't the connections to stage an attack on them to revenge his father - or did he?
He shook his head. No, even if Malfoy had the means, he'd never have the guts to kill someone.
'How was New York?' Hermione's question startled him out of his thoughts.
He grinned at her across the table. 'Big, crowded and noisy.'
She rolled her eyes at him. 'Only you, Harry, could stay in one of the most exciting cities of the world and have nothing to tell.'
'That's because I haven't,' he said, and pulled a bowl with potato salad towards him to get himself another helping. 'I wasn't there for fun. Most of my time was spent in conference rooms and meetings.'
Of course she at once caught on to what he had omitted. 'And what's about the rest of your time?'
'Sleeping and eating.' He grinned at her between ladling spoonfuls of salad onto his plate. 'Though I went to a cocktail party and spent the last day doing some personal errands.' He pushed the bowl back on its place, and again his eyes wandered to Daphne.
Hermione chuckled. 'I think I know what that was.' She took a sip of her wine. 'You're such a devoted husband, Harry. Daphne is one lucky witch.'
He squirmed at her words and lowered his eyes. Was he? He surely tried to do right by Daphne; she didn't deserve anything less, after everything she'd done for him; she was his closest ally and fiercest supporter, and he cared for her. Very much, actually.
And yet he still hadn't told her about Ginny …
He sighed, slipped his wand out of its holster for an inch, and cast a silent Privacy Spell around Hermione and himself.
'I ran into Ginny in New York,' he said under the cover of the spell. 'We had dinner with each other.'
Hermione froze; her hand with her glass of wine stopped midway between her mouth and the table. She put the glass back on the table in a very slow and deliberate move, while she cast him a strange look. 'Was that all you did with her?'
What the -. Then the meaning of her words hit him. Heat shot into his cheeks. 'Of course! What do you think of me, Hermione? I'm a married man!'
She pressed her lips together. 'That's a reason, Harry, but not an impassable obstacle for some.'
His hand clenched around the bottle of Butterbeer next to his plate, and he cast her a dirty look. 'Well, to me it is. All we did was talk. She's not happy at the moment.'
'You've heard about her last divorce?'
'Yeah, she told me about that. She seemed to be rather depressed about it, too, though I had the impression -' He interrupted himself, bit his lower lip, and studied the label on the bottle as if it was the most interesting thing on earth.
'That she still wants you?' Hermione asked. He didn't need to see her face to know she was frowning, her voice dripped with disapproval.
He jerked his head up. 'What? Merlin, no, she did nothing to give me that impression.' At least she'd done nothing as outspoken as during their last encounter in the orchard. Had she given him small, covert hints that she still was interested in him? He snorted. How was he supposed to know? He'd always been pants at understanding the hidden signals girls gave him, almost five years of marriage hadn't changed that in the slightest.
He harrumphed and fidgeted with his bottle, before he said, 'I had the impression she's still suffering from what happened five years ago. She said she made a few poor choices because of that.'
The frown on Hermione's face became even deeper. 'That's a long time to cry over spilled milk.'
Harry nodded. 'That's exactly what I thought.' He raised his bottle, took a swig and lowered the bottle halfway to the table. 'Besides that, you are also married now, Hermione, though only for a couple of weeks instead of years like Daphne and I. But you've been with Ron for years, by now you should know that a relationship isn't always sunshine and happiness, and that it takes two to make it work. Ginny, I'm afraid, hasn't caught on that yet. Actually, she threw kind of a pity-party for herself and expected me to commiserate with her.' He took another swig out of his bottle.
Hermione's brows shot up. 'And did you?'
He shook his head. 'I couldn't find it in myself. However, I couldn't tell her to get a grip on herself and grow up, either, so -'
'So you chickened out?' Hermione asked, a knowing smile on her face.
Harry laughed. 'You know me too well. She wanted to spend some more time together at the bar and talk, but I told her I was knackered, which wasn't a lie, by the way, and went back to my hotel - alone.'
The smile on Hermione's face became broader. 'Good for you. Have you told Daphne about that encounter?'
'No, there hasn't been the right moment yet.'
Hermione sobered and she reached with her hand across the table and put it on his. 'You ought to tell her, Harry, and soon, this isn't something you want getting back to her some other way.'
He nodded, Hermione confirmed his thoughts on the Ginny-problem, but there hadn't been the time for a lengthy and undisturbed talk for him and Daphne yet. Oh, well, they still had the rest of the weekend to themselves, he'd talk to her tomorrow.
Daphne's hand on his arm caught his attention, and he turned towards her.
She grinned up at him. 'Are you two conspiring to take over the world?'
Harry laughed and cancelled the Privacy Charm. 'Nothing that exciting. Just some private talk among old friends.' Warmth crept into his cheeks. What if Daphne wanted to know what they had talked about?
Hermione, Merlin bless her, came to his rescue. 'I told Harry how queasy I am for the upcoming recruitment tests at Crystal Fairy's on Monday.'
Daphne laughed and adjusted Dominique on her arm. 'You have nothing to worry about, Hermione. You had the highest results in a Potions Mastery since Professor Snape. If the Ministry can't appreciate your genius, Crystal Fairy can. The contribution an employee makes to the success of our company has always been more important to us than blood status.'
However, Hermione worried her lower lip between her teeth and gave Daphne a doubtful glance. 'If you say so.'
Harry sighed, he surely couldn't fault Hermione for her doubts. She had finished her N.E.W.T.s with straight Os in all her chosen objects, and had immediately started a Potions Mastery at Canterbury Magical University a year after them. The three years at university together with Daphne and Hermione had been one of the best times of his life. She had finished her mastery in record time a year ago, and once again with top grades.
Kingsley had been only too happy to recruit her into the Ministry, and as one of that years top recruits had given her a free choice in which department she wanted to work. Hermione had set her heart on the Department of Mysteries.
And that was when the trouble started.
The head of the department, though no Death Eater, was a staunch supporter of Pureblood Supremacy. As of yet, Kingsley had found no reason to remove the man from his position; though a former Ravenclaw, he was too cunning to give the Minister of Magic a reason to fire him. He'd taken it as a personal offence that Kingsley forced a Mudblood on him - all of the other, hand-picked employees of the Department of Mysteries were Purebloods, or at least Halfbloods with best connections all over the magical society.
It didn't help at all that Hermione's professional abilities outshone many the other members of the department, the head included, or that she was best friends with the Chosen One and engaged to Ronald Weasley, the rising star in the Auror Department. He'd resented her even more for that and made her life hell in such insidious ways that made it hard to nigh on impossible to finger him as the perpetrator.
Hermione had become deeply unhappy and reserved, drawing back into herself in a way that reminded Harry of the friendless eleven year old girl she had been once, but she was determined not to budge. He and Daphne had had a hard time to persuade her to send in her application to Crystal Fairy's, Harry had felt like hexing her on more than one occasion due to obstinance. When she had finally relented and sent in her application, Cyrus had taken all of about ten minutes before he agreed with them that she'd be a valuable asset for the magical part of the company. They all had no doubt she'd get one of the three positions they had to fill.
'I told you I agree with Daphne. Just you wait and see, you'll sail through the tests with flying colours,' he said to his friend, and she shot him a thankful smile.
Lisa demanded Hermione's attention with a question, and the conversation changed to other topics.
As always when the friends met, they had a much too good time to part soon, and it was already well after midnight when Harry Apparated himself and Daphne home. It had been another long day for him, after a night with little sleep, and he was out like a light as soon as his head touched the pillow.
When he woke up the next morning, the sun already was high in the sky, and the bed beside him was cold and empty. He got out of bed, showered, dressed, and then went downstairs in search of his missing wife.
He entered the bright and airy family room. With its light, cheerful colours, comfortable chairs and sofa, shelves filled with books, and dozens of pictures of family and friends on the walls and on the mantlepiece of the fireplace it was his favourite room in the house.
However, the cranky wails of a baby made him stop in his tracks.
Daphne sat on the sofa, a clearly unhappy Dominique in her arm, and gave him an almost desperate look over the baby's head.
'Good morning.' He sat down beside Daphne on the red leather couch, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and tickled his goddaughter with a finger. 'And to what do we owe the honour of a visit by Her Ungraciousness?'
Daphne laughed, albeit rather strained, and kissed him back. 'It's rather good afternoon, sleepyhead. I had lunch already.'
'Oh... you should've woken me up.'
'You needed your sleep; I know you too well, Potter, you've been pushing yourself whilst you were away: you had your own carry on luggage under your eyes.' Daphne shook her head. 'To answer your question, Lisa went into labour early this morning, and since Fleur had agreed to support her during that time, it was up to Bill to take care of his daughters today. Unfortunately, Victoire seems to have caught a bug, and he has his hands full with her. I got an emergency Floocall around eight if I'd take Dominique today. Molly and Arthur are still in Romania, visiting with Charlie.'
'And of course you said yes,' Harry said and tickled Dominique once again. 'It'll be nice to have some bonding time with our goddaughter.'
Daphne gave him a wry side glance. 'Let's see if you'll still say that tonight. The little miss realises that something is out of the order, and has been fussy and weepy all morning long. I've tried to get her to sleep in her pram, but she insists to stay on my arm. You miss your mummy, my precious, don't you?' She dropped a kiss on the downy head at her shoulder.
Harry's eyebrows rose up. 'So, you're a demanding young lady, are you Miss Weasley?' he asked the baby in Daphne's arm.
Dominique turned her head into the direction of his voice, sucked at her tiny fist, and let out a mournful low wail.
'I'll take that as a yes,' Harry said with grin. He scooted nearer to his wife and put his arm around her shoulder. 'Since it doesn't look as if we're going to go anywhere today, there's something I've been meaning to talk about to you.' His heart beat a drumroll. It was now or never, he had to tell Daphne about his encounter with Ginny, or it would be too late.
She turned her head and gave him a look with raised eyebrows. 'And that is?'
'Well, while I was in New York -'
He didn't get farther. Dominique chose that moment to let out a few short cries, like an engine sputtering to life, and then a deafening wail followed.
Daphne looked at her wristwatch. 'Uh oh, seems this little one's hungry; it's almost her afternoon feeding time. Sorry, honey, but whatever it is you want to talk about, it has to wait. Her Highness comes first.'
She shifted the wailing infant on her arm, slipped out her wand and Summoned a bottle with milk from a bag that sat on the window seat.
'At least Fleur has left enough milk to get her through the day. Lisa surely wouldn't appreciate it if I barged in on them right now so that Fleur can breastfeed her daughter,' she said while she dipped the bottle and let a drop of milk fall on the inside of her wrist to test the temperature. Satisfied with the result, she tickled the corner of Dominique's mouth with the tip of the teat.
The wailing stopped immediately. Dominique turned her tiny head, snatched for the teat with an audible snap of her mouth, and began sucking, puffing and blowing, while one of her pudgy legs pumped in sync with her sucks.
Harry and Daphne looked at each other and shared a smile, and then looked down at their contentedly feeding goddaughter again.
Harry's heart grew warm. That was a sight he could get used to. How would it be to watch Daphne feed their own baby?
Daphne turned her head and blew him a kiss. There was a soft smile around her lips, and her eyes beamed at him. Had she somehow learned Legilimency?
However, that were the last peaceful minutes they had that day. Dominique turned out to be a very difficult and demanding visitor. She refused to stay in her pram, and would start to wail the moment they tried to put her down for a nap.
They took turns carrying the infant in their arms all day long, and rocking and singing her to sleep in their arms. Even then, Dominique would be fitful and restless.
Dinner was already a memory, and the sun went down behind the tall houses of Grimmauld Place when the Floo in the family room flared up.
Harry had just managed to persuade Dominique to take a nap on his shoulder. At the sound of the roaring Floo, however, the baby startled and began wailing once again.
Harry clenched his teeth. Whoever called, they'd better had a very good reason.
Daphne gave him an understanding glance and got up to answer the call.
Justin's beaming face appeared in the green flames. 'It's a boy! Richard Henry Finch-Fletchley arrived one hour ago. Lisa's tired, but alright.'
'Oh, Justin, that's wonderful news! Congratulations! Please, give Lisa our congratulations,' Daphne said with a broad smile.
'I will,' Justin said. 'By the way, Fleur said she'll go home any minute now, so you can drop Dominique at Shell Cottage.'
'Alright; thank you for informing us, Justin, and congratulations again.'
Justin gave her another grin and withdrew his head. The flames died down.
Daphne got to her feet. Her face beamed. 'Isn't that wonderful news? I'm so happy for Lisa and Justin.' She began to gather Dominique's things that had spread themselves across the family room during the day.
'Yeah, it's wonderful,' Harry agreed, and rocked a still whining Dominique in his arms.
His wife flicked her wand, Banished Dominique's things to Shell Cottage with a silent spell, and let out a huge yawn while she stashed her wand away.
Harry got to his feet, the baby on his arm, stepped to Daphne and gave her a kiss. 'Go to sleep, darling. I'll take Dominique home and will be back in a few minutes.'
She gave him a thankful, but tired smile in return, kissed Dominique's cheek and left the room.
'Kreacher,' Harry called.
The ancient house elf appeared immediately.
'Please, take us to Shell Cottage.'
Apparition by elf was still the most comfortable means of magical travel, and as cranky as Dominique was, he didn't want to make it worse by Flooing her back home or Apparating with her. Merlin knew Bill and Fleur wouldn't thank him for that; they both had had a hard day after a short night of sleep.
As he'd predicted, a hollow-eyed Fleur took Dominique from him and thanked him, while he could hear Bill talking to Victoire upstairs.
Five minutes later, he was back home in their bedroom. The room was almost the exact copy of their bedroom back at The Coach House. Harry looked towards the bed; the duvet was pulled back, but Daphne wasn't there.
His eyebrows went up. 'Daphne?'
'I'm in here.' Her voice came from the direction of the bathroom, and he walked over and leaned against the doorframe.
She stood in front of her opened bathroom cabinet, where she used to keep her makeup and her Contraceptive Potions, and eyed the neat row of vials with a slight furrow between her brows and a mysterious smile around her lips. When she heard him enter, she turned around and gave him an impish smile, and there was a light in her eyes he'd never seen before.
His heartbeat sped up. What was that about?
She slid her wand out of the holster on her wrist. 'I think we don't need them anymore, or what do you think, honey?' A flick of her wand Vanished the neat row of Contraceptive Potions.
The breath caught in Harry's throat, his heart made a flip-flop, and a huge smile crept on his face. He stepped towards Daphne and took her in his arms.
'You're right, we don't need them anymore,' he said, and kissed her.
t.b.c.
